have another one, Carol
Last night we couldn't decide what to have for dinner, so rather than trying to whip something inventive up, we headed down the block to the fancy Italian restaurant. We've lived 300 steps (I actually counted. I wonder if my OCD is kicking in?) away from this place for 2 years, but never seemed to find occasion to dine there. It's a bit pricey, and dim and romantic, so it's the kind of place that you go to for a special reason.
We had an amazing meal, and the ambiance was great. But halfway through dinner, who comes stumbling in but Carol the Drunk! I wouldn't have even noticed her if it weren't for the shouting I heard. The dining room is very small and filled with hushed conversations, and then there's Carol yelling into her cell phone. She's sitting at the table all alone, clinging to her cell phone like it's her companion. Who goes to a fancy Italian restaurant alone? I felt bad for her, because the entire room was filled with tables for two. In Carol's world, a table for two means one seat for her and one seat for the bottle.
Carol is someone who regularly rides the 67 bus from our neighborhood to the BART station. We see her regularly during the normal 8:30 and 5:30 bus routes. She must work in the financial district. A few other people on the bus know her by name, so that's how we got the 'Carol' part of Carol the Drunk. She's middle-aged and not wearing it well. She's always talking loudly about having cocktails at lunch and going for wine at the restaurants on Cortland. That, plus her flushed cheeks and woozy demeanor have pretty much been the flashing neon sign floating above her that reads, "AA is for Quitters!!" One time, after she got off the bus at her stop, I overheard her 'friends' talking shit about her. She must get on everyone's nerves. When she was leaving the restaurant with her doggie bag, she loudly told the waiter, "This is going with me to Austin tomorrow!!" When the door closed behind her, I could have sworn I heard him whisper, "who fucking cares, you frumpy bitch."
We had an amazing meal, and the ambiance was great. But halfway through dinner, who comes stumbling in but Carol the Drunk! I wouldn't have even noticed her if it weren't for the shouting I heard. The dining room is very small and filled with hushed conversations, and then there's Carol yelling into her cell phone. She's sitting at the table all alone, clinging to her cell phone like it's her companion. Who goes to a fancy Italian restaurant alone? I felt bad for her, because the entire room was filled with tables for two. In Carol's world, a table for two means one seat for her and one seat for the bottle.
Carol is someone who regularly rides the 67 bus from our neighborhood to the BART station. We see her regularly during the normal 8:30 and 5:30 bus routes. She must work in the financial district. A few other people on the bus know her by name, so that's how we got the 'Carol' part of Carol the Drunk. She's middle-aged and not wearing it well. She's always talking loudly about having cocktails at lunch and going for wine at the restaurants on Cortland. That, plus her flushed cheeks and woozy demeanor have pretty much been the flashing neon sign floating above her that reads, "AA is for Quitters!!" One time, after she got off the bus at her stop, I overheard her 'friends' talking shit about her. She must get on everyone's nerves. When she was leaving the restaurant with her doggie bag, she loudly told the waiter, "This is going with me to Austin tomorrow!!" When the door closed behind her, I could have sworn I heard him whisper, "who fucking cares, you frumpy bitch."
posted by Freewendy @ 12:20 PM
2 Comments:
At 2:04 PM,
Grandma said…
If people who ride your bus know you're a drunk, you've got problems.
Do you think Carol went home last night and told her bus friends that she saw the Boozebag Wendies at Palatino?
At 8:31 AM,
Anonymous said…
I was so hoping for the ending: "And then she passed out face first in her linguine." I suppose that only happens in the movies, though. Was she drinking with the meal, or does she just show up with a brown paper bag everywhere?
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